


The Meat of the Matter

by GetMcDunkedOn



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bakery, Dating, F/M, First Date, Fluff, Homeless Shelter, bakery owner, homeless Sans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:02:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21943324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GetMcDunkedOn/pseuds/GetMcDunkedOn
Summary: Lily is a bakery shop owner who meets a cute, mysterious skeleton at the homeless shelter where she volunteers. Fluff ensues. A Secret Santa for LucklessLady!
Relationships: Sans (Undertale)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 40





	The Meat of the Matter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LucklessLady](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=LucklessLady).



> Merr Chrissm'n

“Thank you, have a nice day!”

Lily waved at her last customer of the day as they walked out, then set about closing up shop for the afternoon. Her bakery was one of the more popular ones in town due to her diligence and friendly personality (and her welcome reception of monsters), so she could afford to close early a few days out of the week to go to what she considered to be her second job. It didn’t net her any money, but it was something she worked at consistently, a few times a week. Humming, she pulled off her apron and wiped a few stray strands of flour from herself. After putting up the chairs and cleaning out the back room, she grabbed what was left of her baked goods and got them boxed up. She carried them precariously out to her car and settled them all in the trunk taking a few trips, then got up in front and started up. It was a short drive to the local homeless shelter.

She carried her precious loads in through the front door, and smiled at the receptionist, who waved at her. She was a common sight around here these days, coming twice a week with leftover baked goods and helping with the dinner time rush. She then also helped to clean up after dinner with some of the residents who worked there as a job. When she walked in, dozens of people perked up from where they were waiting in line to get their bedding tickets and clothes. The regulars all knew her, and she saw many of them nudge newcomers and whisper, probably explaining what she did. She smiled at anyone she locked gazes with, unable to wave with her hands full.

Lily made her way into the kitchens and set her load down. She didn’t have enough for everyone, not with there being a few hundred residents, but she had enough for maybe half of those staying. It was first come first serve on her baked goods, and she made sure she had plenty of variety for people to choose from. It was tough to bake the sheer volume she wanted to bring each time, which was why it was only twice a week, but she took pride in the quality of her work. And it felt good to help those in need.

Most of the homeless were monsters in Ebott Town, and she saw people of all shapes and sizes. Some of them chose not to eat her food due to the non-magical quality of it (and there were plenty of magical options for them), which made her feel a little better that there wasn’t enough for everyone.

The dinner service soon began. People filed in with their food tickets and went down the line, and she doled out her food with a smile to everyone that came along and wanted something. Mostly it was the long term residents that managed to get in line first. Nonetheless, it wasn’t all that long before a new face showed up.

The skeleton she was looking at had a giant hole in his head. He was a short thing, looking to be several inches shy of five feet. And he had a  _ giant hole in his head _ . She was so startled, she nearly dropped a cupcake, her eyes going wide.

“Oh my god, are you alright?” she blurted out without thinking. The skeleton… man? blinked slowly, only one dilated red pupil staring out at her. He clutched his tray (mostly meat, but with a little bit of the mac n’ cheese), and nodded. She felt a little stupid instantly, and blushed. A hand went up to nervously touch her cheek. “I mean, of course you’re alright, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you self-conscious.”

The skeleton shrugged and set his tray down. Then he pointed at the still-warm buns she had in front of her, one of the various types of baked goods she’d brought.

“meat?” he questioned, and it took her a moment to process what he was asking.

“Oh! Oh no, none of these have meat.” He looked disappointed, picking up his tray again. She tilted her head. “You don’t want any?”

“need… m-meat,” he mumbled, seeming to struggle with saying it. Did he have some sort of talking impediment? Maybe it was related to the hole in his skull. Poor thing… She instantly felt bad she couldn’t offer him what he wanted. She drummed her fingers a little.

“The mac n cheese doesn’t have meat either, is that okay?”

He looked down at it, then mixed the mac n’ cheese into the meat and made a ‘tadah’ sound without words, shrugging. She hummed.

“Well… maybe you just want a dinner roll? You could do the same thing. Soak up the juices with it.”

He contemplated that for a moment, but there were starting to be irritated noises from those in line behind him. Ultimately, he sighed and shook his head, then kept going. She felt bad as he wandered off to find a place to sit.

She kept on with her work, but her gaze kept going to the skeleton with the hole in his head. He would cut up his meat and carefully nudge a piece of it and some of the mac n’ cheese onto the fork all at once, then put it in his mouth. He hardly chewed, more swallowed the food whole. He made pleased little noises, she thought, what with the way he half-lidded his eyes and pressed lack-of-lips together. It was impossible to hear it from so far away, but she imagined they were little hums. He was savoring the food. She still felt somewhat bad that she couldn’t give him anything. She tried to focus back on what she was doing.

Eventually, she ran out of baked goods. Some of the people still in line looked disappointed, but most of those left were monsters and didn’t mind it all too much. By the time everyone was served, those who had been served first were gone, and it was already time to start cleaning up. She helped out, grabbing trash to throw away and packing up leftovers. She passed by the skeleton, and did a double-take as she realized he was licking his plate.

“Didn’t get enough, sweetie?”

He jolted and looked embarrassed, nearly dropping the plate. Quickly, he nodded, and she felt a little sheepish. She shouldn’t have called him out like that… She gathered up his trash and delicately took the plate.

“Hey… next time I come, I’ll bring pork buns, okay? Would you like that?”

He perked up, looking up at her with rounded eye sockets, and nodded quickly, enthusiastically. That made her smile. He was cute... How a skeleton could be cute, she didn’t know, but he was it, with those big sockets and that soft smile he had on his face right now. To be so overjoyed at the prospect of a simple pork bun… She wondered if he’d had to go for long periods of time without food before. It was really none of her business, but her mind wandered to the possibilities nonetheless. As her brain chased after those thoughts, she reached out and gently patted his hand.

“Then I’ll definitely do that. I’ll be back in three or four days. You’ll be here?” A nod. “Okay. What’s your name, sweetie?”

It seemed to take him a moment to gather himself to speak again. But finally, after a long moment of forming word shapes soundlessly, he managed it. “g-guts.”

“Guts? Okay, Guts, it was nice to meet you. I’ll see you in a few days with that pork bun, alright?”

He nodded again, shifting his hand to pat hers gently in return. That made her smile again, and she nodded to him before getting up to keep cleaning up.

By the time everything was cleaned up and the residents were all taking their showers or settling in for the night, it was almost 8 o clock. She stretched and yawned as she headed back out of the place, waving at the receptionists on her way. It was a productive day. On the way home, her thoughts drifted to Guts again. Really, she shouldn’t think of them with  _ pity _ , their dignity deserved better, but she couldn’t help but wonder what sort of circumstances brought him there. Many were drug addicts or alcoholics, others were ex-criminals. But there were no telltale signs of drug or alcohol withdrawal, and aside from the hole in his head, he looked so  _ soft _ that it was hard to imagine him committing a crime. So what circumstances led him to be homeless? Did he struggle to find a job with his apparent speech impediment? It seemed fairly likely... She tried again to push those thoughts away. It wasn’t any of her business, she told herself as she pulled in to a parking spot at her apartment complex. She tried to put it out of her mind as she had her own dinner and got ready for bed.

\- - - - - - - - - -

Three days later, she returned to the homeless shelter, pastries in hand. She had made sure to make three dozen pork buns, on top of what she usually had. It was extra work, but it was worth it. Besides, now she had almost enough for everyone, not counting the regulars who didn’t care for human food. She went back and forth grabbing her goods and setting them up, and soon enough, dinner began.

Guts came shuffling over at around the same place in line as before, tray of meaty goodness in hand. He looked at her hopefully, and the expression just melted her heart. He remembered. She smiled and plucked a pork bun to set gently on his tray.

“Here you go, sweetie, just like I promised.”

He looked appropriately delighted, lifting his tray to sniff at the pork bun. He made a happy sigh at the smell, and smiled at her.

“th...a-anks,” he said, with some effort.

“You’re welcome!” She beamed in return, her heart squeezing in an almost painful way. He was just so cute… She wanted to spend more time with him, ask him all about himself. She couldn’t help it. He moved on and she suppressed a sigh, moving on to everyone else.

As she kept serving food, she watched him again. He saved the pork bun for last, eating everything else on his plate first. Then he picked up the pork bun and sniffed it again, before opening his mouth wide and taking a big bite. He again looked as though he’d made a pleased sound, the bones of his neck rumbling as if he were humming. She felt a surge of pride, and more of that squeezy-heart feeling. He liked her food. Loved it, even! Feeling victorious, she focused back on serving people.

When it was cleanup time, Guts waved her down.

“What is it, sweetie?” He rubbed his belly and smiled at her. She tilted her head, then smiled back. “You liked it?” An enthusiastic nod. “Good. Lots of the others did too. I’ll start bringing them every time, okay?” More nodding. “Any idea how long you’ll stay? Do you have a job?” His face fell a little, and he shook his head, gaze drifting away. She felt her heart break. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, “Do you want one with me?”

He looked very surprised at that, sockets going wide. Slowly, he nodded, though he looked a bit unsure. Lily blushed, lifting a hand to her cheek.

“Ah, that is… I’ve been thinking about getting an assistant baker for a little while now… I, um, can’t promise anything, but I can bring you in for a trial run? Have you ever baked before?”

He nodded, starting to look excited again. She smiled. She hadn’t meant to offer out of the blue like that, but… something about this seemed right. And now that she’d offered, she couldn’t take it back anyway, she had to at least let him try.

“Great! Um, here.” She fished around in her pockets until she found one of her company cards. “Here’s the address. Why don’t you come tomorrow at, say, eight am? I open at eleven, so that’ll give us some time to see what you’ve got.”

He nodded again, taking the card and pocketing it, and then offered his hand. She shook it with a smile.

“thanks,” he said again, his voice soft, warm.

“You’re welcome, sweetie. Always happy to help.”

With one last beaming smile, she headed out to go home. She’d have to calculate how much her revenue would be with a second employee, and maybe make a few spending habits adjustments, but she could do this. She was going to help Guts get back on his feet!

\- - - - - - - - - -

The next morning, Guts arrived at the bakery right on time. Lily paused in what she was doing to let him in.

“Hey! Sorry I look a bit of a mess, I’m doing today’s baking already.”

She knew she looked a little harried, flour smeared on her apron and hands, but baking had never been a clean art. He didn’t seem to mind, shrugging amicably. He was wearing an apron of his own underneath the parka, and it said in bold, uppercase letters, ‘BONE APPETIT.’ She snorted a little upon seeing it, and it made him grin wide. He winked lazily, making her giggle a little more.

“So you’re a funnyman, I see. Very  _ humerus _ .” He gave her finger guns at that.

She led him into the kitchens, where she had cookies and cupcakes already in the ovens and some cake things set up.

“You’re gonna help me make cakes, okay? I make four different kinds of cakes. Chocolate, strawberry shortcake, boston cream, and cheesecake. the cake batter for the first three are all pretty much the same except for flavoring, so we make those first, okay?” Nod nod. “Great. I have my recipes pinned to the board over here, make sure to follow them exactly.” More nodding.

And so they got to work. Guts proved to be an excellent ingredients manager, with steady hands and an eye for exact proportions. With two people working, it wasn’t nearly as much work, and it took less time. Guts started to hum now and then, absent little tunes. He seemed to be enjoying himself, which was good. Work shouldn’t be miserable, in her opinion, that was why she had pursued her passion for baking. It was tough, but fun, and he seemed to agree.

By the time they opened up shop, everything was out and in its proper places at the counter. Lily drummed her fingers on the counter as she waited for the first customer. It didn’t take very long. Someone came in to get a drink and a cupcake, and she happily served them. Guts hovered uncertainly in the doorway to the kitchen, unsure what to do. She looked back at him and smiled. “You can take a rest, sweetie, I won't really need you again until the rush hits.” He nodded his affirmative and found a seat.

In between customers, she chattered at him, telling him about how she started up her bakery, what she liked to bake the most, a little about her childhood, random things that seemed like good things to chatter about. He listened patiently, only occasionally interjecting with a word or two. Finally, her curiosity got the better of her.

“It’s hard for you to talk, right?”

“mmm.”

“Have you tried learning sign language?”

He started to sign, agreeing and trying to explain it was hard, and then stalled out, blinking a few times.

“Oh... I see… what about writing?” He shrugged and gestured at her, then made a writing sign with his hand. She hummed and looked around in the back for a moment, then came out with a piece of printer paper and a pen. She handed them over. He smiled almost bitterly and put pen to paper. He seemed to struggle with that as well, scratching out letters painstakingly, some of them with incomplete loops. He wrote in all lowercase, and it reminded her of comic sans, but it was far from perfect.

'had trouble with all words since hole head,' he had written, and looked unsatisfied when he slid it back over. She hummed again, taking the paper and slowly folding it.

"...texting?" He shrugged, then made the 'same' sign. Stalled out. "hmm… so all kinds of language is difficult for you…" A mournful nod. "well… what about pictures? pictures aren't language!" He considered that for a long moment, then shrugged.

"ma-aybe."

"Well, it's something to try! Until then, ah… you do need to communicate to work the register. I know what I'll do! I'll make you index cards with the typical things a cashier says. Okay? And then you can work without talking."

He looked uncertain, but nodded anyway. She smiled, then hurried into the back room again, and found herself some index cards. Between customers, she filled them out with things like 'How can I help you?' 'How many?' 'What flavor?' 'Your total is on the register,' 'Cash or credit?' and offers for the specials. She handed them over and he flipped through them. He seemed impressed.

"thorough…"

"Heh, thank you. I want to make it as easy as possible for you to do the job. Handicaps shouldn't stop us from working hard!"

He smiled up at her, nodding. "try h-hard," he agreed.

The rush came later in the day, and Lily had Guts try out the register, using his cards to communicate with the customers. Most were patient with him, and more than usual left tips. Especially the monsters, several of whom seemed to recognize him and congratulate him on the job. Those, he smiled to widely and attempted words with. It was a productive day. He didn't tire easily, working hard for hours. She even felt comfortable leaving him at the register to make more cookies at some point. And eventually, the work day was over.

Lily stretched, groaning softly. She was a little sore, as always, but that marked a job well done. She split the tips between them.and handed his over with a smile. He took it and pocketed it, then smiled back.

"Great first day, Guts! Do you want a ride back to the shelter?" He nodded, so she led the way out to her car. Acting the gentleman, she opened the passenger door for him, then strapped in behind the steering wheel. She turned on the radio to an alt rock station, and he perked up. He hummed along to a few songs as they rode along, drumming his fingers on his knees. There was a point where he slipped his fingers into his dead eye socket absently. Scrape scrape. She tried not to stare out of the corner of her eye at a stoplight. He eventually realized what he was doing and sheepishly laced his fingers together, flushed in embarrassment.

"Uh, hey," she blurted out. "Don't worry, if it makes you comfortable, you can do that. I don't judge."

He flushed more, then shrugged. She caught his hand drifting back up a few moments later. Scrape scrape. It was kinda weird, but maybe it was like scratching an itch. It was none of her business either way. If he wanted to, he could. Scrape. She wondered what happened to his head. Also none of her business.

They arrived at the shelter and she walked him to the door.

"Well, here you are." Funny, it almost felt like the end of a first date. She felt a weird heat in the pit of her stomach. Hesitantly, he opened his arms, maybe thinking the same. She only paused for a moment before hugging him. Surprisingly enough, he felt fluffy. Maybe it was just the thickness of the parka, but it didn't feel like hugging bones. It was… nice. She squeezed gently, then let go. "Good night."

"night."

He went inside. She watched for a moment, then got back into her car and went home.

\- - - - - - - - - -

They settled into a routine. He came by to work five days out of the week, and generally took the day off after each day they donated to the homeless shelter. Lily drove him home most nights, unless it was nice weather and he decided he felt like walking. He worked hard and made very good tips, as plenty of monsters seemed to know him and like him. Things were peaceful for a while. That weird feeling in her stomach kept bubbling up. Finally, after a few months of dancing around it, she decided she should say something.

“Um,” she blurted out one evening as they were getting ready to lock up. He looked up from putting chairs on top of tables and tilted his head questioningly. She fluttered her hands a little, nervous now that she had breached conversation. What to say, what to say. “Do you… maybe wanna… have dinner with me?”

He tilted his head a little more, then lifted his hand and bent his middle finger in with his palm facing his head.  _ Why _ ?

“Oh, no reason in particular!” she said nervously. “I just thought I’d go out for once, have something yummy, and... Well… I… I like you, so I want you to come with!” She blurted that last part out all in one big blurb of words, very quickly. Guts’ sockets went wide, and then he flushed a little, faint pink coming to his cheekbones. She’d seen him blush many times, mostly a light flush while eating particularly tasty food, And a few times, when talking to the fire elemental that came in sometimes, or the big goat lady who ran the kindergarten, he’d get energetic and blush. But she’d never seen him look  _ shy _ like he did right now. He slowly finished putting the chair he was holding up, then shuffled his feet a little and nodded.  _ Ok _ , he signed, one lone sign with his pointer finger and thumb touching, his other fingers splayed out. Then he shuffled through his cards until he found one that said ‘May I make a recommendation?’ and held it up. Ever since they had first had the sign idea, Lily had been slowly compiling more and more, putting them into groups for different kinds of conversations. He was able to mostly hold full conversations entirely through cards now, even outside of work. He didn’t get to voice his own opinion terribly much, but he seemed happy with the progress the cards had given him.

Lily shrugged, also blushing a little. “Um, if you have someplace in mind, that’s fine. I only know some monster-friendly restaurants anyway, and I know you don’t get to pick your dinner options.” He beamed and put the cards away, then held out his hand. Slowly, blushing a bit more, she took it. Then they walked out of the store and locked up, then headed off down the sidewalk together.

It wasn’t a terribly long walk, maybe fifteen minutes to where he brought her. It looked to be a family-friendly bar and grill, and the neon flashing sign said ‘Grillby’s’ on it. She thought the name was familiar, but it didn’t hit her until she went inside and saw the fire elemental behind the bar. Oh, this was Guts’ friend’s place! She knew the guy owned a bar, but she didn’t know this was where it was at, or that it would be family friendly. The fire elemental looked to be a generally happy person. Part of his head was a little melty, his glasses always askew, but he had mentioned once that he looked far better than he used to, when they were starving underground. Whenever she thought of that time for the monsters, she always got terribly sad for them. To think they’d been trapped, so scared and hungry,  _ right there _ and no one had known their suffering… She wished she could’ve done something to help them back then, but that was when she was an older teenager, and hadn’t yet started up her bakery. She’d had her own problems back then… No one could’ve helped them except Aliza, the girl who’d fallen. That girl was ambassador now, living with the goat woman Lily saw now and then. That woman had a slightly creepy smile, but… Lily knew she meant well.

She shook herself out of those thoughts and followed Guts to a seat at the bar. Guts happily hopped up at a seat near the right end of the bar, and swung his legs happily, letting go of Lily’s hand to tap his fingers on the bar. It was frankly adorable. She smiled as she hopped up onto the seat to his left, and laced her fingers together. Grillby crackled a little and gave them each a menu, but Guts hardly looked at his before he set it down. It seemed he already knew what he wanted.

“So I take it you come here lots?” Lily asked, and he nodded happily.

“favorite,” he said, his voice a little shaky as usual.

“Your favorite place to come? Well it must be really good, then!” She checked the menu. It was pretty typical bar and grill food, mostly meats. No wonder Guts liked it here. But there were also a few carb-heavy options. She spotted a mac n’ cheese option with little hot dogs in it, called “mac n seas.” The hot dogs were shaped like little octopi… That was the most adorable thing ever and she was willing to bet that Guts got that. He loved mac n’ cheese, she had found out pretty early on. He ate it whenever he could, portioning out his meat to have a tiny bit on each spoonful of the delicious carbohydrates.

After some debating, she decided on a burger for herself, with a side of mac n’ seas. When she gave her order, Grillby laughed a little. He said something in fire, and then again in broken English. “Same as Guts,” he said, taking the menus away. She blushed a little and smiled at Guts.

“Well, he has good taste.”

“I can tell.” Grillby deliberately winked, then put a candle between them and snapped his fingers to light it. Her face went beet red. So they were that obvious…? Guts was blushing too, vivid red, darker than he had been before. They both sat in awkward silence until their drinks arrived. Guts apparently had chocolate milk, which he drank from a straw like a kid. He was so freaking adorable… He caught her staring rather dreamily and blushed again, and she blushed in return.

“Sorry! It’s just… you’re so cute…” He blushed more and pulled his hoodie up, making a muffled embarrassed noise. She squealed a little, and gently patted his head. He made another muffled noise. “You’re being even more cute right now,” she said evilly. He made another sound, but she caught a hint of a smile underneath the hoodie. She giggled softly, patting his head again. Why was she so nervous? She felt so nice around him. She shouldn’t be so nervous if he had feelings for her too. And he said he liked her too, so… Confidence welled up. She rubbed his back a little then, smiling.

The rest of the date went well. She chattered happily about this or that, and was sure to ask questions so he could respond with his cards. They ate their food happily, and Lily was sure to compliment Grillby on how delicious it was. She hadn’t had mac n cheese so good in… maybe ever! And the burger was tender and juicy, with delicious toppings. Guts made mention that the ketchup was homemade. He had poured some all over his burger, and even added some to his mac n cheese, which made her giggle and gently, fondly tease him. It wasn’t all  _ that _ weird, she’d seen a few other people put ketchup on their mac n cheese before. A little unusual, but it probably tasted good. She wasn’t one to judge.

“Any dessert, lovebirds? I’ve got cheesecake, or molten chocolate lava cake, or big cookies to share.”

“Mmm. Those all sound good. Which one do you want, Guts?”

Guts considered that for a long moment, then held up one finger.

“The first one? Cheesecake? Okay! One big cheesecake slice, meat on one half?”

“Coming right up~”

She had long since gotten used to having him put meat on everything. It was something she’d asked about once, and the basic gist that she understood was something happened to his ‘stomach’ when he went so long without eating anything that it rejects food that doesn’t have meat in it. She wondered if it was a protein thing. Maybe other proteins would work instead of meat? But he wasn’t really willing to try, which was understandable.

The cheesecake arrived, and she took her half to enjoy. It was absolutely delicious, she had to admit. Maybe better than hers… but Guts gave her a look when she began to look uncertain. She smiled a little. He was right, it wouldn’t do to compare. Her stuff was good. He nodded, looking satisfied, and then finished his food and looked even more satisfied. Grillby set the check down and Lily took it, putting down her card without flinching at the price. It was actually pretty decent, for two people’s meals and a shared dessert! She’d have to come here for her nights out more often. She paid, and then when she got her card back, took Guts’s hand to walk out with him. Grillby waved goodbye with a smile on his face, and Guts smiled shyly, squeezing her hand.

The walk back was pleasant, and then it was a short drive to the homeless shelter. Lily walked him there, and then hovered in front of the door.

“Well… good night,” she said, leaning in a little. He perked up and leaned up in return. She wasn’t sure how exactly one went about kissing a skeleton, but she just went for it, kissing his teeth gently. He leaned into it, which she supposed was him returning the kiss without lips. It was… oddly nice. Her cheeks flushed from it, and she was a little breathless when she finally pulled back. He was blushing too, a shy smile on his face. He took her hand and squeezed it gently, then waved and headed inside. She waved back, watching him go. Then she squealed when she was alone and heading back to her car. A successful date!

\- - - - - - - - - -

They dated for several months before Lily made a serious decision. They were sitting in her living room, watching a movie and snuggling, when she blurted it out.

“Um, Guts?”

“mmm?” It was easier for him to make humming noises than to actually use words. They’d figured out over time that he was good at using emojis to tell stories and communicate, so he pulled out his phone just in case. It also had a digital compilation of the index cards he used to communicate at work and at the shelter, giving him a vocabulary that was ever growing.

“I want… I want you to move in with me!” She said it fast, like when she’d first asked him out, a little nervous but mostly determined. Guts blinked slowly, surprised, and then blushed. He typed a hesitant sort of emoji face, and put a question mark at the end, like he was asking  _ are you sure?  _ She nodded, a serious expression on her face. “I feel… so comfortable with you. We’ve been dating for a while now, and… I mean, part of it is because you don’t deserve to be homeless, that’s true, but isn’t it the natural next step anyway? I don’t pity you. I never have. I feel that that’s wrong. So… It’s me, offering you a place to stay, out of… of… l-love…” She blushed, peeking over at him. He looked like he was on the verge of tears, and hugged her tightly. He made a wordless, choked sort of sound, trembling a little. Then, quietly, he said only one word.

“thanks…” he mumbled, clinging gently. Her heart melted. She rubbed his back, gently kissing his skull.

“You’re welcome, sweetie.” A soft giggle. “Literally.” He giggled back, a little breathless from being so emotional. He wiped at his eyes, then pulled back and nodded. She jumped up, taking his hand, and tugging him to the car. “Let’s go get your stuff right now, then!”

He nodded, following along. It was a quick drive to the homeless shelter, and Guts went into his room. He’d become a long-term permanent resident, so he had one, but it was sparse. He had some clothes, some books, one picture of his brother, and a spare bit of money. He had to go up to the counter and get the rest of his funds, as the shelter kept most of the residents’ paychecks to help them save. He got it all, and they went back to her house (now their house). He spent a little while putting everything away nice and neat in the spare room, then snuggled up to her on the couch again, purring softly. He laced their fingers together and kissed her hand.

“love… yo-ou,” he mumbled with some difficulty, and her heart thudded the same way it always did when he managed to say those special words. She kissed him gently.

“I love you too, Guts… I’m glad you agreed to stay with me. You’ve changed my life. I feel like… I have more of a purpose with you around. And I feel more confident in myself and my work… Thank you so much.”  
He hummed and kissed her hand again, his lone eyelight a soft heart. He made the sign for ‘me too,’ and snuggled up closer. They spent the evening kissing and snuggling happily.


End file.
